G.R. No. L-74100 December 3, 1987
The People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Gentem Kintuan, accused-appellant.

FACTS

The case stems from a raid on the house of Datu Buagas Mastura, a CHDF Section Commander, in Salimbao, Sultan Kudarat, past midnight on February 2, 1982. Approximately twenty attackers fired upon the house using assorted high-powered weapons. During the ensuing firefight, Buagas’s wife, Norma Mastura, was mortally wounded, and four of his children were seriously injured. Buagas testified that he recognized accused-appellant Gentem Kintuan among the assailants due to moonlight, a nearby mercury lamp, and their proximity of four to seven meters. His testimony was corroborated by Kamlon Mamadra, a neighbor and CHDF member, who saw Kintuan from about five meters away and heard a co-accused call Kintuan to withdraw. Another witness, Pendatum Usman, testified that during a blocking operation, he heard the same co-accused call for Kintuan’s help after being wounded.
Kintuan denied participation, claiming he was at home during the incident. He alleged that after his arrest, Buagas and Mayor Tacao Mastura tried to coerce him into admitting guilt and implicating political rivals, and that he was mauled when he refused. An Information for Murder with Multiple Frustrated Murder was filed. Only Kintuan was apprehended and, after trial, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the prosecution proved Kintuan’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, particularly regarding the credibility of the witnesses’ identification and the defense of alibi and frame-up.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty and damages. The Court found the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses credible and consistent. Both Buagas and Mamadra positively identified Kintuan under conditions of sufficient illumination—moonlight and artificial light—and at close range. Their prior familiarity with Kintuan bolstered the reliability of their identification. The corroborating testimony of Usman, who heard Kintuan being called by name during the retreat, further strengthened the prosecution’s case.
The Court rejected Kintuan’s defenses. His alibi was inherently weak, as he failed to prove it was physically impossible for him to be at the crime scene. His claim of being framed due to political motives and his refusal to surrender his firearm to the mayor was unsubstantiated and did not overcome the positive identification. The trial court correctly disregarded the alleged mitigating circumstance of passion and obfuscation, as the planned and collective nature of the attack indicated a spirit of lawlessness, not a sudden impulse.
Regarding the penalty, the Court noted Kintuan was a quasi-recidivist. However, with the abolition of the death penalty under the 1987 Constitution , the penalty for Murder is reclusion temporal maximum to reclusion perpetua. Applying the maximum period due to quasi-recidivism, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua. The Court thus modified the sentence to reclusion perpetua and increased the civil indemnity for Norma Mastura’s death to P30,000.00, while affirming the other awards.